Fire-escape.



No. 646,635. Patented Apr. 3, I900.

, J. CABUS.

FIRE ESCAPE.

(Application filed. July 28, 1899.}

(No Model.)

IIIH llllllll 'HHHIIII llll Q0 IHIHH l IHl UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH OABUS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CAROLINE B. OABUS,

OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. e4e,cs5, dated April 3,1900.

Application filed J l 28, 1899. Serial No. 725.346. (No model.)

T0 at whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH OABUS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of New York, county and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and use ful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to fire-escapes; and it consists of animproved formof portable apparatus to enable persons to escape from the windows ofburning buildings with safety.

The preferred form of apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying sheetof drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical central section of Fig. 2.Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the near portion of the casin g brokenaway to show the contained apparatus.

Throughout the drawings like referencefigures refer to like parts.

The ornamental pouch shaped casing is composed of two parts 1 and 2,which maybe held together by a series of screws, one of which is shownat 3, or in any other convenient manner. This casing has an opening 20,through which a fine wire cord 6 or other flexible form of rope or chainpasses, said cord or rope 6 being wound upon the drum 5, which has itsshaft 5 journaled in a sliding frame 4. This frame 4 has a limitedsliding motion in guides 4, formed on the interior of the casing.

On the shaft 5 is a pinion 7, which meshes with a gear 8, mounted on aparallel shaft 8, also journaled in the sliding frame and controlled bythe spiral spring 9, one end of which is-fastened to the shaft 8 or gear8, while the other end is fastened to the sliding frame 4 or otherwiseheld rigidly. The gear 10 is also rigidly mounted on the shaft 5 andmeshes with the pinion 11, loosely mounted on the shaft 8 and rigidlyconnected to the friction or brake wheel 12. The pinion 11. andbrake-wheel 12 are prevented from endwise sliding by the collar 13 onthe shaft 8 or by other equivalent means. The brake-shoe 14 engages thebrake-wheel 12 and is held in such engagement by the strong spiralspring 15, which is confined between a downward projection from the lug14 on the brake-shoe and an upward projection from the lug 16,

brake-shoe is kept in position by the pin 14", engaging a recess in aprojection 4 from the sliding frame 4 or by other convenient means. Alighter compression-spring 17 is compressed between thedownwardly-projecting lug 18 from the sliding frame 4 and theupwardlyprojectinglug 19 from the interior of the easmg.

The gear-wheels S and 10 may be made'in skeleton shape, as shown, forlightness and the external casing is provided with any convenient meansof attachment to the walls of a building, such as eyebolts 21 21.

The use of the pinion 7 and gear 8 is to enable a given and convenientlength of spring 9 to wind up a greater length of cable than would bepracticable if said spiral spring were attached directly to the shaft 5.

The mode of operation of my invention is as follows: The spiral spring 9normally tends to rotate the gearing in a direction to wind up the cord6 on the drum 5. The spring 15 is so designed that when the slidingframe 4 is forced up into the position shown in the drawings in fulllines by the light spring 17 the brake-shoe 14 bearswith a lightpressure only, if at all, upon the brake-wheel 12, said pressure notbeing sufficient to prevent the rotation of the parts by the spiralspring 9 to wind up the cord 6. When the cord 6 is pulled out andunwound from the drum, as

by the weight of a person descending, the spiral spring 9 opposes onlyenough resistance to this unwinding to cause the resultant pull upon thesliding frame 4 to overpower the light spring 17 and force thebrake-wheel 12 down upon the brake-shoe 14 with a force proportional tothe weight of the person suspended from the cord 6. The brake-spring 15'yields slightly, so as to permit the sliding frame 4 to move to aposition indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and equ'alizes the actionof the brake. When the person has descended and the weight is removedfrom the cord 6, the spring 17 acts to force the sliding frame 4 andbrake-wheel12 up and away from the brake-shoe 14, so that the spiralspring 9 is free to act to again wind up the cord.

The advantages of the invention are its compactness and its automaticaction both in winding up and in adjusting the brake fricformed on theinterior of the casing. This tion in unwindingto the weight suspended,

so that a heavy man may descend at approximately the same speed and withthe same safety as a child.

It is evident that various changes could be made in the details ofconstruction illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope ofmy invention so long as the relative arrangement of parts shown in thedrawings and the principle of operation described in the specificationare preserved. Other forms of spring might be employed. A dilferent formof brake might be substituted. The proportions of the gearing might bevaried or such gearing dispensed with so long as the winding-up springoperates on the drum in a direction to wind up the cord and so long asthe brake opposes the unwinding of the cord when the sliding frame ispulled in a direction to bring said brake into action. All such changesare matters of detail and leave the resultant construction within thescope of my invention.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto protect by Letters Patent, is

1. In a fire-escape apparatus the combination of a casing, a slidingframe therein, a drum journaled in the frame, a spiral spring mounted onsaid frame, a gear journaled on the sliding frame, to which gear thespiral spring is attached, a pinion on the drum meshing with the gear, abrake-wheel journaled on the sliding frame, a pinion rigidly attached tothe brake-wheel, a gear meshing with said pinion and rigidly attached tothe drum, a brake-shoe loosely mounted on the sliding frame and adaptedto press upon the brake-wheel, a spring supported in the easing andnormally forcing said brake-shoe against the brake-wheel, a secondspring mounted in the casing and normally tending to force the slidingframe in a direction such that the pressure of the brake-shoe upon thebrake-wheel is diminished, and a cable wound about the drum in adirection to be wound up by the action of the spiral spring and gearing,said cable extending out through the casing in a direction such that apull thereon will tend to move the sliding frame in a direction toincrease the pressure of the brakeshoe upon the brake-wheel.

2. In a fire-escape apparatus the combination of a casing, a slidingframe therein, a drum journaled in the frame, acable wound on the drumand extending out through an opening in the casing, spring means forrotating the d rum to wind up the cable, abrakewheel journaled in thesliding frame and geared to the drum so as to rotate at a much higherspeed than said drum, a brake-shoe pivoted to the sliding frame andbearing on said brake-wheel, a spring confined between the brake-shoeand that end of the casing through which the cable passes out, and aweaker spring confined between the sliding frame and the same end of thecasing.

Signed by me at New York city, New York, this 25th day of July, 1899.

. JOSEPH CABUS.

Witnesses:

LILIAN Fos'rnn, J. E. PEARSON.

